Press Release 29/08/2012

FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ECOMEX) 2ND QUARTER 2012

Exports from the Basque Country were up 2.2% in the second quarter of 2012

There was a nominal drop in imports of 17.4% over the same period.

Exports of the Basque Country stood at 5,134 million euros in the second quarter of 2012, according to EUSTAT data. This figure is 2.2% up on exports recorded for the same period of 2011.

Imports, for their part, posted a fall of 17.4% compared to the same period of 2011, registering a value of 3,753 million euros. The decline in imports of non-energy products stood at -10.2%.

These data reveal a positive commercial balance of 1,382 million euros and a coverage rate of exports over imports that grew to 136.8% for this period.

The quarterly performance of foreign trade of the Basque Country was different for exports according to province. Thus, exports in the second quarter decreased by 9.0% in Bizkaia; whilst Álava and Gipuzkoa had positive rates of 15.1% y 6.0%, respectively. The fall in exports of Energy products, Metals & Manufactured and Transport equipment was an important cause of the decrease in Bizkaia. Transport equipment together with Fats & oils and Electric equipment were the main contributors to the rise in Álava. In the case of Gipuzkoa, the growth had its origin in Electric equipment, Transport equipment and Food products.

Regarding imports, Álava obtained growth of 4.2%, whilst Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa obtained negative rates of 24.3% and 9.9%, respectively.

Balance of the first quarter of 2012

In the first quarter overall exports rose by 1.2% and imports fell by 16.5%

In the first six months of 2012, exports of the Basque Country stood at 10,131 million euros, 1.2% up on the first quarter of 2011. On the other hand, imports stood at 7,529 million, having dropped by 16.5%.

The total transaction volume (imports and exports) of the first six months of the year came to 17,660 million euros, compared to the figure of 19,025 million for the first six months of 2011, which is 7.1% down on the previous year.

There was a surplus in the foreign balance of this first quarter, with a positive trade balance of 2,603 million, 1,606 million euros up on that obtained a year ago and based on the fall in imports. Furthermore, the non-energy foreign balance, of 4,290 million, also improved and was up 25.7%. The coverage rate of total exports compared to imports fell from 111.1% last year to 134.6% this year. The coverage of non-energy products increased from 160.1% for the first six months of 2011 to 182.4% in this first quarter of 2012.

Exports to the European Union-27 posted growth of 4.7%, with those destined for the United Kingdom (32.3%), Germany (4.0%), and Denmark (121.0%) all standing out due to the volume of increase. On the other hand, the decrease in exports to Italy (-16.7%) was particularly noticeable. Imports originating from the European Union were down 9.5%, with those from the United Kingdom falling by 47.7%, and those from France down 6,0%, whereas those from Germany rose by 5.4% and those from Austria saw a 64.1% increase.

From a sectorial perspective, amongst the products that stood out, those coming from the Plastics & rubber and Electrical material customs duty groups were those that contributed most to the total growth in exports of the quarter, with rises of 48.1% and 13.0%, respectively. On the other hand, there were the customs duty sections of Mineral & energy products, with a drop in exports of 30.8%, and Metals & manufactured, the section with the greatest trade volume, which posted a decrease of 7.5%. Transport equipment, our second most important export section, remained unchanged when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In the imports section the fall was widespread, and especially large in the case of the Mineral & energy products section (-30.3%), which accounted for 31% of total imports, and Metals & manufactured (-22,8%), 23% of total imports. For its part, from amongst the sections of greater volume, Electrical equipment was up by 4.8%.

By Province, the growth in exports from Gipuzkoa (10.5%) was particularly noteworthy, supported in the main by the Transport equipment and Electrical equipment sections, with increases of 23.0% and 19.1%, respectively, and accounted for 56% of exports in the quarter. The improvement in exports from Álava (9.3%) was based mainly on two sectors: Transport Equipment (9.5%), 41% of the exports from Álava, and Electrical equipment (35.8%); and to a lesser degree, in the Fats & oils and Cement & glass sections. The Metals and manufactured section experienced a fall of 5.6%. Lastly, exports from Bizkaia were down by 11.0%, mainly due to the drop in Mineral & energy products (-31.2%), Transport material (-39.1%) and Metals & manufactured (-13.0%). Growth in exports from the Plastics & rubber section is particularly worthy of a mention, with a rise of 128.9%.

Regarding imports, there were decreases in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa of -22.6% and -13.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, Álava experienced quarterly growth of 8.2%. Imports to Bizkaia fell, mainly due to the large decreases in the Mineral & energy product and Metals & manufactured sections. In the case of Gipuzkoa, the four sections that contributed most to the fall in imports were: Metals & manufactured, Electrical equipment, Mineral & energy products and Paper & manufactured. Lastly, in Álava, the large growth in imports of Electrical equipment compensated for the drops in Metals & manufactured, and Chemical products, amongst others.

 

Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.eus Contact: Patxi Garrido Tel:+34-945-01 75 13 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 Further press releases on Foreign Trade Statistics of the Basque Country Databank on Foreign Trade Statistics of the Basque Country